

E 




Ml 



E 423 
.H63 
Copy 1 



t. V^ 



♦X li 



-ESS 



TO THE VOTERS 



OF THE 



THIRD CONaRESSIONAL DISTRICT 



OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



LOWELL: 

C. L. KNAPP, PRINTER, APPLETON BLOCK. 

1850. 



ADDRESS TO THE VOTERS OF THE THIRD DISTRICT. 



Placed before you, by no desire of my own, as the 
candidate for Congress of the Free Soil party of this 
District, I feel it to be no more than justice to that 
party, to you and to myself, tliat I should set before 
you, as plainly as I may, the grounds of my and their 
position. It isof little importance whether votes be 
gained or lost by telling the truth, but it is of great 
importance that they should be neither gained nor 
lost by a misunderstanding of the truth. And it is 
therefore that, being unable personally to set forth 
our position, so generally as I could wish, among the 
voters of the district, I adopt this method of defin- 
ing it. 

There can hardly be a greater mistake than to 
suppose that either the Liberty Party, or that larger 
movement into which it was two years since ex- 
panded, had a merely temporary ground of exist- 
ence. Temporary circumstances were its occasion 
only, not its cause. Its cause lay in the conviction 
of thousands of minds in Massachusetts and else- 
where, not only of the intrinsic sin and wrong of 
Slavery, but in the intrinsic peril to Freedom from 
the Slave Power of this nation. They saw that a 
small body of slaveholders had by union and by years 
of unwearied effort secured such controlling influence 
as to make all other political interests subservient 
to that of their unrighteous system, " whose preser- 
vation, propagation and perpetuation became (in the 
words of John Quincy Adams) the vital and anima- 
ting spirit of our government." They saw that the 
two great parties of the North were both ready to 
compromise this question, while the South made but 
one party, and controlled them both. Believing that 
the only safety lay in an imitation of this last policy, 
and in opposing a permanent obstacle to a perma- 
nent danger, they organized a party for that purpose. 

The immediate occasion of the agitation of two 
years since, was only a new form of the old danger. 
The previous aggressions of the Slave Power had 
seemed enough, but they were not enough. The 
Missouri Compromise, the Florida iVar, the An- 
nexation of Texas, the Mexican War, the impris- 
onment of Northern freemen in Southern ports, had 
followed in rapid succession. But this was not 
enough. New and free territory had been acquired. 
To prohibit the extension of slavery into such terri- 
tory, had been the settled national policy from the 
days of Jefferson to our own days. The Slave Power 
demanded the abandonment of this policy, and the 
express toleration of slavery. The danger was im- 
minent. Both the Whig and the Democratic par- 
ties, after many professions, finally refused to make 
opposition to this demand a party principle. The 
Free Soil party was roused into action by this treach- 
ery. It began a course of political agitation, design- 
ed to induce Congress to settle this question on the 
side of freedom; and a course of moral agitation, to 
induce the inhabitants of the new territory so to settle 
it themselves. The political agitation has at length 
been defeated, by the overpowering votes of North- 
ern Whigs and Democrats; and if slavery does nol 
extend itself into the new territories, it will be, by 



the confession of slaveholders,* because the moral 
agitation did not fail. 

The subject of slavery, almost unknown in Con^ 
gress until within three years, has during this 
session been the one absorbing theme. That deter- 
mined and united Southern minority, feeling their 
power glide from them, have been driven to unpar- 
alleled demands. A portion of them, utterly desert- 
ing the original platform of non-intervention, have 
demanded " the whole or none," and refused even 
to allow the citizens of California to decide for them- 
selves, should that decision be in favor of freedom. 
They were wise, perhaps, for their own ends in 
making such demands. Where so much was un- 
blushingly demanded, the timidity of the North 
thought it necessary to concede something, though 
that something might be far too much. There are 
always compromisers. There are always men, said 
Lafayette, who if any one claims that two and two 
make six, will find it absolutely necessary to go half 
way, and admit that two and two make five. 

A series of" compromise measures" were intro- 
duced, founded upon somewhat such principles. A 
compromise whose terms were originally dictated by 
a committee of the Senate composed, one" half of 
slaveholders, one half of Northern men professedly 
and notoriously distinguished for their acquiescence 
in the views of slaveholders; and including but one 
man in any degree representing the anti-slavery sen- 
timent of the North! A compromise only resem- 
bling in its practical results that between the two 
gamblers, who play at cards avowedly against their 
dupe and the third who kindly volunteers to officiate 
as his partner. 

The terms of the compromise were such as might 
have been expected. Of the six measures proposed, 
four were repugnant to freedom, to justice, and to 
the North, (viz: the toleration of slavery in New 
Mexico and Utah, the partition of New Mexico and 
the Fugitive Slave Bill); and of the two others, the 
one (the admission of California) was a tardy act 
of the plainest justice, and the other (the abolition 
of the slave trade in Washington) was expressly 
urged on the ground that it would do slavery no 
harm. Such was the " compromise" ; such have 
been all our compromises with slavery. 

This was the compromise; these \fere the "peace 
measures," for the honor of which the leaders of the 
Whig and Democratic parties are competing; and 
against which no large portion of either party has 
yet entered a hearty protest. If so it is, let it be so. 
If these parties boast the honor, let the question rest 
on this ground. We join issue here. We pronounce 
this honor a shame. Let them support it. Let us 
condemn it. On which side ai-e the people of 31as- 

*" California, now about to be admitted into the 
Union, would have been settled by slave-owners — by 
Southern men — had there not been such a general 
agitation at the North upon this slavery question, but 
they had been prevented from moving there from this 
cause, and therefore California was populated mostly 
by Northern men." — Speech o/'Mr Clingman ofN.C . 



sachusetts'? On which side are yon, people of this 
Distiictl 

Let us review these compromises. 

I. The Wilmot Proviso Surrendered. 
During the last Congressional election, the ground 
of the express prohibition of slavery was assumed 
almost universally by New Engiaml Whigs, and in 
some cases by Democrats. In this district it was 
adopted by the former with no dissent, and the con- 
test waged on that ground. The Free Soil party 
were always met with the declaration, not that their 
movement was objectionable, but that it was superflu- 
ous. This was strongly stated by Mr. Choate in a 
speech in Salem. " Have not all our Massaclmsetts 
Wliigs," said he, " taken fearlessly their stand upon 
thisgroundl Do you suppose that Daniel Webster 
himself could be returned, if there was the least 
dtjubt of his position on this questionl On all oth- 
er points we are identified with our brethren of the 
South — on this point we propose simply to vote them 
doivn.^' 

After these solemn assurances, what result fol- 
lowedl The Free Soil party of two years since 
were denounced as base libellers whenever they 
dared to hint at that which our eyes have now seen 
come true. On September 4, 1850, a bill was passed, 
expressly conceding to the new territories the right 
to establish slavery, should they wish, — and on that 
bill the names of three Massachusetts Whigs (Mes- 
srs. Eliot, Grinuell and Duncan) were recorded in 
tl'e affirmative. 

The Buffalo Platform, all of which had been 
claimed as Massachusetts Whig doctrine was for- 
gotten. " Under no circumstances," said Mr. 
Webster, on Aug. 12th. 1848, " shall I consent to 
any farther increase of Slave Representation in the 
House of Representatives." 13ut this Congress 
has now solemnly pledged itself to admit New Mex- 
ico, "wither without slavery as the inhabitants 
thereof may decree." 

It may be said that this pledge does not bind the 
next Congress. Doubtless it does not. That it 
does not bind the Whig party. Perhaps it does 
not. Massachusetts, at least, is pledged to d'sre- 
gard it.* But it does bind those Whigs who voted 
for it. It binds three Massachusetts Whigs. 

It may be said that this is only a formal pledge 
and risks nothing. But the history of nations is 
full of unexpected occurrences, and it is a small 
satisfaction, after a priceless thing is lost forever, 
to know that the loss appeared improbable till it 
happened. Massachusetts resolved in 1849 to leave 
nothing in this case to "chance or uncertainty." 
So shuidd it be. Even after the ordinance of 1787, 
so late as 1803, there was an elfort made by the in- 
habitants of Indiana to obtain its suspension and 
introduce slavery. There is strong reason to believe 

* Legislative Resolution in 1845. — " Tliat no terri- 
tory Iieieal'ter api)lyiiig to be admitled to llie Union, 
as a Stute, slioLild be iulniiiiecl williout a condition 
lliat dome>tic shivery sliould be titterl extinguished 
within its borders; and Massachusetts denies the va- 
lidity of any compromise whatever, that may have 
been or that may herealter be entered into by per- 
sons in tlie government of the Union, intended to 
preclude the future application of sncli a condition 
by tlie people acting tlirough their representatives in 
the Congress of the United States." 



that slaves are held now in New Mexico and Utah 
and a recent decision in CBlifo.niia set aside the 
Mexican law, which alone protects these territo- 
ries. " I would not vote for the Compromise 
bill," said Senator Foote frankly, " were I not 
satisfied that slavery can and will be extended into 
New Mexico, under its provisions." 

But, danger or no danger, the principle of " No 
more Slave States" is abandoned by those who 
voted for this bill, and when Cuba shall come (as 
wlio knows how soon she may) asking admission 
for her 325,000 slaves, to increase by one-tenth our 
national slaveiy and slave representation in Con- 
gress, it is not these Massachusetts Representatives 
who can consistently object. The propagandists of 
slavery will point at that past legislation by which 
i\\ii possibility of more slave States was recognized, 
and none can answer but those who can reply , "Thou 
canst not say, I did it" ! 

On the poor evasion that this bill made a part of 
the Texas Bill, I need not dwell, even if that fact 
lent it more attractiveness. For those same three 
Massachusetts Whigs voted to pnt it into the Texas 
Bill,* in direct opposition to the President's plan. 
Yet to that policy one, at least, of these members 
had fully pledged himself; and that policy (of non- 
action) unsafe as it seemed, compared with the 
Massachusetts doctrine of prohibition, was a safe 
precedent in comparison with that docrine of ex- 
press toleration which has been conceded now. 

II. The Concession to Texas. It is so 
generally admitted in Massachusetts that the dis- 
pute between Texas and Mexico has not been re- 
garded as a geographical cjuestion, that it is hardly, 
perhaps, desirable to examine it as such. The Spa- 
nish province of Texas became the Mexican State 
of Texas and that the U. S. State of Texas. But 
the boundary claimed by her in 1850 was not the 
boundary claimed for her at her annexation, nor at 
the time of the war. Was it to be conceded simply 
beciiuse she asked for hi She might have demand- 
ed to the Pacific. Theonly dignified or just method 
of procedure was that indicated by Gen. Taylor, 
that Congress should examine the title and if Texas 
had a title, concede it and pay for territory taken. 
Was this done'? It is not pretended. There was 
avowedly a cafiipromise, but what compromise'? 

Let the North answer in the words of Thaddeus 
Stevens: 

" Fifty thousand miles of territory now free, are 
given to Texas to be made Slave territory, and we 
give ten millions of dollars to pay her for taking it." 

Lei the South answer in the words of Senator 
Clemens of Ala.: "If Texas accepts the ofi'er made 
to her, instead of inaking a part of Texas free soil, we 
have made the whole of New Mexico slave soil. We 
get clear of the Mexican Law abolishing slavery, 
which is said to prevail in New Mexico, and extend 
the laws of Texas over the country. The inhabit- 

* Two of these, however, (Messrs. Grinnell and 
Duncan)liad previously voted against the amendment, 
and the latter also against the Texas Bill on its first 
reading. I have seen no explanation of the change. 
The latter gentleman also voted against the Utah 
bill, which seemed no more exceptionable than this. 
Indeed the Whig State Address passes over the dan- 
ger to Utah lis too slight for discussion, Jnnd dwells 
onlv on that to New Mexico. 



ants of New-Mexico nearly nil reside on the eas( 
bank of tlie Rio Giamle, wliicii if it be a part of 
Texas, is .slave soil, and uill come in as a slave 
State — the number of inhabitanis west of the Rio 
Giande being too inconsiderable to have any inliu- 
ence in determining the character of tlie law.^' 

Fifty thousand square miles, over which the be- 
neficent free laws of semi barbarous Mexico had 
hitherto extended are at one instant subjected to 
that terrible rule o^Slavcry which the North had so 
often pledged itself to tolerate no inch farther; nor 
is this enougli, but ten millions of dollars are paid 
with it. Here are the simple facts. Truly ibis yoting 
State of Texas, passing from all her battles to the 
ways of peace, luav well (|uote the noted words ol 
an European soldier-statesman, that " there is more 
monev to be made bv one stroke of the pen than by 
tile whole art of war." 

And yet it was not diplomatic skill alone that 
won this immense surrender. Whatelsel It is not 
for me to impeach the motives of any individual. 
But it will stand out forever recorded on the history 
of this nation, that we who had pledged ourselves 
long since " millions for defence, not one cent for 
tribute," gave at once tribute money and tribute 
territory under the pressure of threats and 

BRIBES. 

Threats; for Texas, bankrupt, unable even to de- 
fend herself from the Indians, begging for regiments 
from Congress for that purpose, dared to threaten. 

Bribes; for, in words attributed to Gen. Taylor, 
" Texas bonds were more dangerous than Texas 
bayonets," and the profits on Ihosemillions of scrip 
were a temptation that could not easily want vic- 
tims, while human nature remains as it is- 

It is not the ien millions of money lavished by 
this bill which form its chief reproach, though they 
are a serious addition, even to a war-debt of seventy 
Had the money been spent on a Pacific Railroad, 
it might have been justified. Had it been thrown 
into the sea, it might have been pardoned. But ten 
millions, spent to buy moie slavery ; nay, ten mill- 
ions spent as a direct premium on undisguised re- 
bellion, is something, compared with which the 
IMesican war, even as described by its worst oppo- 
nents, was a piece of consummate statesmanship.- 

When Rob Roy held in subjection the, Scottish 
glens and mountains, and levied contributions from 
tlay to day, by tin'eats of summary punishment, I 
never heard that he received "black mail," and 
swept off all the booty also! 

Yet the wrong and danger were fearlessly ex- 
posed in Congress. Said Mr. Sackett of New 
York: " We have duties to perform; not only to 
the (|uiet of the present hour, but to that national 
honor and integrity that are the only guarantee of 
peace hereafter. The harmony that is secured at 
the expense of riglit and justice is a peace more 
dangerous than a thousand threats of Texas. Pur- 
sue the course marked out by this bill, and what is 
government worthl It is but the prey of every band 
of malcontents ; the subject of every |)lot ; the ob- 
ject of phnider to every rel/el league. Umler such 
a system no man is safe. What is government to- 
day is chaos to-morrow. This bill, sir, under the 
circumstances in which it appears, is little else than 
an open bid for treason in all dme to come." 



Yet the votes of the Free States — nay, of New 
England — nay, almost of Massaclmsetts — turned 
the scale of this disgrace ; and, though the North- 
ern Whig paity, by its majority, seemed on the 
right side, yet the Whig party of this District, by 
its delegate, was on the wrong. 

III. The Fugitive Slave Law. I do not 
propose to go at any length into the discussion of 
this infamous law.* The condemnation of it, 
throughout the Free States, has been too general 
for that. I am unwilling to assume that you.need 
any stimulus to feel outraged by a law which de- 
nies to the Free .States the right to protect their 
own citizens in their own homes, strikes down 
Trial by Jury, refuses the ordinary facilities of de- 
fence to those accused, and bribes judges to ren- 
der a partial verdict. And yet it must not be for- 
gotten that this measure was included in the 
•■ compromise'' — part and parcel of these "peace 
measures" which the leading journals and orators 
of both parties are vaunting now. 1 will not here 
dwell on tlie details of the bill till it has been more 
openly defended in this community ; but some 
things must be said. 

As citizens and legislators wc are called on by 
the Constitution to permit the re-capture of fugi- 
tive slaves. But the clause in the Constitution is 
one confessedly now bearing much more hardly 
on the Free States than was designed by those who 
passed it, since it is well known they expected the 
speedy extinction of Slavery. It bears against 
freedom, against justice and against the general 
spirit of the Constitution. We are therefore jus- 
tified in construing it by its letter only ; and ren- 
dering it very strictly on the side of freedom. — 
Shylock may have his pound of flesh, but ■' let not 
a drop of blood follow," since it was not " so 
nominated in the bond. ' If it be possible to have 
more securities against danger than in ordinary 
legislation, if any combination of legal provisions 
can give the defendant additional safeguards then 
the whole voice of the nineteenth century demands 
that they be concentrated here. But what says 
the new law ? Instead of increasing them, it siveeps 
them all away ; and v^ithout a word of constitu- 
tional authority gives to slave property a security 
demanded for no other property, and makes the 
love of liberty a crime penal beyond all other 
crimes. 

Our duty as citizens and legislators is therefore 
plain. First : to provide by State legislation for 
the defence, as far as possible, of all persons ar- 
rested under this law. Second : to agitate for its 
repeal, and the enactment by Congress or by the 
States, of a substitute as stringent for freedom as 
this for slavery. Third : to agitate for the amend- 
ment of the Constitution on this point, as demand- 
ed by the State Resolves in 184.3. 

This is our duty as citizens. But after all is said 
and done, what is our duty as men as to this or any 
law, even a Constitutional one, requiring us to 
assist or tolerate the enslavement of man by man 1 
To DisoBEV IT, when needful, and show our good 
citizenship by taking the legal penalties ! 

There is an amount of moral wrong which no 
law^ can make "right. The most valuable citizen is 
he who obeys the laws when his conscience is not 

* r have liowever done this in a series of articles in 
tlie Xewbiiryport Ihiioii. 



6 



outraged, — and when it is outragedjjdisobeys and 
takes the penalty. To bow the knee to Baal, to 
cast incense on a heathen altar; — men "of whom 
the world was not worthy" have died sooner than 
submit to these things ; and yet these are but ab- 
stract and unimportant offences compared with the 
enslavement of a human being. Shall all our 
sympathies be wasted on the slaves of Turkey and 
Algiers, the outlaws of Hungary and Poland, and 
pass over these innocent outlaws of our own day 
and land ? Shall we unlike Moses " betray him 
that wandereth," and " return again the servant 
unto his master to bondage," — unlike Jesus, do as 
we would not that others should do unto us ? Nay 
shall wild Indian and Arab tribes, whom no bribe 
or penalty would allure to the surrender of a guest 
— shall these taunt us and proclaim that their bar- 
barism is honor and love when compared to ours ? 

For myself, I cannot bear this. Born and bred 
in the free air of Massachusetts, in her Middlesex 
and Essex counties, I cannot measure the right to 
freedom by geographical or physical lines. I can- 
not sacrifice to any statute (least of all to an un- 
constitutional one) the duty of aiding the oppress- 
ed. All slavery is tyranny, and for me, resistance 
to tyrants is still obedience to God. The duty is 
so plain that it hides from view the thought of con- 
sequences. I cannot tell what may happen ; but 
I can tell what is right. I do not wish to be a 
rebel, and where I am myself concerned will sub- 
mit to the law's penalties. But if Massachusetts 
is not free, I know at least of one house that shall 
be. There is one door, which, if I can make it so, 
shall be a door of hope to the oppressed and to the 
oppressor, of hopelessness. And when I close that 
door against a hunted and guiltless man, or open 
it to his pursuers, then may the door of God's in- 
finite mercy be closed forever against me. 

I rejoice to say that but one Massachusetts Rep- 
resentative darkened forever an honored name 
within the shadow of this wicked law.* Yet 
which of the two great parties can disclaim it ? It 
was only the crowning atrocity of a series of meas- 
ures now claimed as an honor by both. A majori- 
ty of Northern Democrats voted for it. Even the 
Whig party through its most influential organs sup- 
ports it. A Whig Secretary of State breathed into 
It the life which has sustained it. Twenty North- 
ern Whigs absented themselves when it passed. — 
A Whig President approved it and has yet to meet 
the first reproach from his own party for so doing. 
Is it not then accepted as their act ? They did not, 
it is true, write beneath it, " Approved, Millard 
Fillmore" ; but they do write " Millard Fillmore 
is approved" 5 and it is the same thing. 

And now what plea of excuse can be offered for 
this series of evil things ? None is offered, none 
pretended, save one only — Fear, abject Fear. Be- 
cause this government was not trusted, because 
this Union, after its years of life and strength, had 
commanded no confidence, we have proclaimed to 
the world its weaknesses, yielded to foes of our 

* The Representative from this District, however, 
expressed in a printed speech the opinion that the 
South were entitled to something beyond the act of 
1793. Yet that act denied tlie Trial by Jury equally 
with this, and has seemed to most Massachusetts 
men only loleiable, because practically almost use- 
less. 



own household, and made concessions to a fetv 
States and a few Slaveholders, which would have 
stained our flag forever if made to the most power- 
ful nation on earth. 

Why not speak the truth plainly and say — the 
Free States have been openly bullied into con- 
senting, not only to injustice; but worse, to Sin ! 

The Slaveholders of the South are about three 
hundred thousand, arrogant, threatening, and yet 
with a foe at home which the aid of the general 
government has to be constantly pledged to keep 
under. The free colored population of the Union 
alone are about as numerous. And yet at the bid- 
ding of those Slaveholders a series of demands is 
granted, by which the whole safety ot tnese free 
colored men is swept away, as one trifling item 
amid the general wreck. And these are called 
'• Peace measures." 

Peace 1 it is well, but is there not a disgraceful 
Peace when peace is bought and right is bartered"? 
When the Gauls offered to vacate conquered 
Rome, on payment of 1000 pounds of gold, they 
used false weights in weighing it, and when the 
Romans complained, the general Brennus only 
threw his sword into the scale and cried " Wo to 
the vanquished." 1 believe that Peace was sel- 
dom boasted of at Rome, but we think differently 
of these things, and boast of ours. 

The terms lecre severe — great concessions 
tvere made — it did come hard to our consciences 
but it toas necessary to pacify "'^ South " ! O 
spirits of Adams and Warren, of earlier Puritan 
heroes, where had this nation been had you thus 
made danger paramount to duty ! Or had your 
brave soul, O Andrew Jackson, met the threats of 
South Carolina with gold instead of iron ! 

The simple truth is, that the strength of the 
Union has not been proved ; those who distrusted 
it anticipated the trial by compromising. We have 
quailed before a supposed danger. Next time (for 
the South will never want threats till the North 
learns manliness) we shall distrust more, and com- 
promise earlier. Last year, one Southern Caucus 
re-considered Gott's resolution and passed the 
Pacheco indemnity bill. This year, two South- 
ern Conventions created Northern votes enough 
(yes, and Whig votes) to defeat the Wilmot Pro- 
viso, annex a new Texas, and abolish Trial by Ju- 
ry. What is the next victory to be ? How long 
will it take, before we destroy the Union past hope 
by making it a mere instrument of Slavery and not 
worth preserving ? 

And what, after all, was tlie real danger^ The 
leading Southern statesmen, Clay, Benton, Berrien, 
were Unionists. The leading Southern presses 
were so.* When otherwise, it was mostly for ob- 
vious electioneering purposes. Every demonstra- 
tion failed. The Nashville Convention failed. f 
The Macon Convention failed. The Texan legisla- 
ture, upon which everything turned, rejected the war- 

* The National Intelligencer, during February last, 
contained long series of extracts from influential 
newspapers in nearlv every Slaveholding State, re- 
pudiating all sympathy with disunionists, and show- 
ing the groundlessness of the panic. 

t The whole number of votes thrown for delegates 
to the Nashville Convention, in the ultra-Slavehold- 
ing State of Georgia, was 4,000; the entire vote of 
the State being about 90,000. 



bill and adjourned, withatU ivaiting to hear the action 
of i^oHgress! 

But had all this been otherwise^ what excuse'? — 
O that there had been more in Congress of the 
raanly spirit of Senator Ewing, of Ohio. " It does 
not affect my miad at all," said he, " to alluile to 
suppo.-ed terrible consequences that are to follow; 
from a defeat of this Texas bill. Whatever is right 
and just I am willing to enact, and would hasten to 
enact, even in the face of threats. When one na- 
tion begins to pay another for aggressions, she in- 
vites every body else to aggress. I will do what 
is just and right, but I will not go one inch farther, 
for being told that civil war is the alternative, no 
matter where, no matter by whom " ! 



I hare reviewed thus at length, the events of the 
past year, l>ecause they are of the very greatest im- 
portance. They are such that in their presence the 
Free Soil party of this district dares not relax its in- 
dependent organization. It dares not yet trust the 
cause of freedom ih the hands of those who have touch- 
ed but to betray it. The strength of the Slave Power 
has proved itself to be unbroken,and what new reason 
have we to rely upon either party to oppose it"? If we 
have just failed, that failure is the strongest stimu- 
lus to new effort. " I need my brave marshals 
most," said Napoleon, " on the morning aftera de 
feat." We have at most, been only defeated; the 
other parties have surrendered ; and even if we have 
lost everything but honor,they have lost honor,which 
is worse. 

Meanwhile, what important questions remain un- 
settled! It was recently admitted, even in the 
Whig State Convention, that the Territorial ques- 
tion was not yet absolutely beyond a doubt, and 
that "the Wilmot" may still be necessary. It is 
possible that the current may change in New Mexi- 
co and Utah, and that ihese may yetseek admission 
as slave holding States. It is nuprobable, certain- 
ly, but not more so than the annexation of Texas 
once seemed. Who then shall assert the former 
doctrines of Mr. Webster and the Massachusetts 
Whigs, except the Free Soil party's Who shall 
resist the annexation of slave-holding Cuba's Who 
repeal the Fugitive Slave Billl Who amend the 
Constitution on that point, as demanded by Massa- 
chusetts seven years ago] Who but the Free Soil 
partyl True, the Northern whigs opposed the 
Fugitive Slave Bill. But so they once sustained the 
Wilmot Proviso, yet more unanimously, and now 
that is dead by Whig votes, and this district aided 
the death. Who shall abolish slavery in the District 
of Columbia"? Not those who first voted it and 
then rescinded the vote under pressure of a South- 
ern caucus. — Why, it is thought a great deed if a 
Massachusetts Senator dares stand up in the Senate 
and vindicate the rights of Northern seamen ! 

The Free Soil party is retrospective, only as all 
parties claim to be, by exposing abuses and demand- 
ing their reform ; no farther. It has plenty of pro- 
spective work before it. It has learned the lesson 
tlioroughly, that so long as slavery exists it will ag- 
gress; and that only a special organization can be 
relied upon to oppose it to the end. We cannot 
predict what new aggressions are coming; but nei 
ther could we predict the old ones tilj they came.— 
The price of liberty is still, eter/ialv^ig^lance. 



The Free Soil Party adopted at Buffalo a plat- 
forpi of action covering other points than anti- 
slavery; it avowed itself in favor of cheap postage, 
of internal improvements, and of a moderate pro- 
tective tariff. I am not aware that it has deserted 
any of these positions; while holding them all secon- 
dary to the one jiriniary object of the overthrow of 
that grasping, sectional power of slavery, which, 
(besides its peculiar aggressions) interferes with 
all other legislation, and offers tariff, postal reforms, 
and all other important measures only on condition 
of a previous compromise of principles more im- 
portant than any of these. The first duty of a Rep- 
resentative is to represent Truth and Right; the 
second, to represent the interests of his constituents. 
So far as this State is concerned, it seems to 
me that these have all been sacrificed together ; 
since slavery, by its intrigues with both parties, 
has for years created a constant fluctuation in the 
protective policy, than which the worst perma- 
nent system might have proved less injurious to 
our manufacturers. 

So long as this is the case — so long as slavery is 
the paramount principle of the South, so long should 
anti-slavery be the paramount principle of the 
North. Till this one truly national question is set- 
tled, the agitation cannot end. We must " legis- 
late openly and actively on the side of freedom." — 
For one, I can act witli no other party than one 
pledged to such a course. It is the only truly na- 
tional party, the only permanent party. I find but 
one organization in this district representing this 
principle, and I accept with a perfect conviction of 
duty, its nomination. 

Of my personal position or desires I have little to 
say. For political life, as it should be, I know 
well how poor are my qualifications. For political 
life as it, alas, now is, they seem almost as little 
fitted. "What should I do at Romel" said the an- 
cient satirist. *' I have never learned to lie.'' What 
should I do at Washington'? I have never learned 
to sell for office, or to silence for threats, the few 
simple principles of right and truth which I plainly 
see ; I cannot compromise them ; I cannot yield 
them to the authority of those whom the world calls 
great and wise; I cannot make anything else para- 
mount to them. It is not for me to judge the con- 
sciences of legislators ; I only know that my owa 
speaks so differently that I cannot act as they do. 

That any man of independence should thinh: a. 
seat in Congress at this time, a tempting gratifica- 
tion, is something which would be quit^ incredible, 
were not -such a delusion so readily atti-ibuted to 
candidates. It is useless to cotnplaiii of this; let it 
be so; let even the Free Soil party be so judged. 
And yet, so far as my experience has gone, they 
have little to do with offices except to lose them ; 
little to do with money except to pay it . So long 
as these are the chief duties I shall cheerfully take 
my share; or i{\ can ever find another party, truer 
and wiser in freedom's cause, I trust I shall be 
ready to take any place that may be assigned to me. 
in its. ranks, witliout ambition and without a fear. 
I- remain yours for all good works, 

T. W. HIGGINSON. 

Oct. 23, 1850. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



001 490 322 7 # 



